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WASHNGMABHINE muc-ls, miams PATENTED s rl s s E ...N n W a@einen ifatrs atrnt @titte FRANCIS M. HRRISVOF WINNAMAC, INDIANA.

Letters Patent No. 73,445, dated January 21, 1868. v

IMPROVBD WASHING-MACHINE.

tite tlgshnlt referat tu in tigen -tetters rtmt tnt making pnt at ilgt same..

TO WHOM IT MAY CONGERN:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS M. HARRIS, of Winnamac, in the county of Pulaski, and `State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Washing-Machines; and I hereby 'declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the sume, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Whiehi I I Figure l. is a perspective view of amachiue constructed in accordancewith my invention, and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical central section of tbc same.

My invention consists, first, in a wash-tub or'receptacle for a washing-machine, o'f peculiar form and construction, as hereinafter described, sonas to -holdthe water within the tub, and prevent it from splashing out when the machine is in operation second, in the combination, with a stationary wash-board, of aswinging washboard or rubber, and spring applied to said rubber, under the arrangement hereinafter described, so that the pressure of the rubber upon' the clothes shall increase in proportion as it moves in one direction, and decrease in a like proportion as it-'moves in the opposite direction; third, inthe combination of the swinging wash-board, and spring for regulating the pressure of the same, with the frame of the machinie, in the manner hereinafter described, whereby the said board may, at any time, be removed withl facility from the tub; fourth, in `thev arrangement of the stationary and swinging wash-boards within the tub in such manner that the clothes, after passing between the said boards, will return under the lower or stationary board to the. clothes-receptacle, formedin the front portion of the tub'.' V I I To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, by reference to the accompanying drawings.

The tub or receptacle A, for the water and clothes,` is m'ounted upon the usual legs or supports, B. The sides of the tub C, to which the legs are connected, are made of wood, but thel bottom, D, I prefer to make o1 sheet metal, such as galvanized iron, when the machine is'used in connection with a heater, E. The form of the bottom is shown plainlyin fig. 2. It has a curved shape, the lowest point being in front 'of the wash-boards, andextends some distance upward at the rear of the machine, above the wash-boards, so as to form on that end of thetub a hood or cover, D.l The object of this hood is to catch the water which is thrown up by the action of the wash-boards, and to prevent it from splashing over the door. In ordinary machines, in which an open tub is employed, this frequently happens, and is a source of great annoyance. But, by giving the tub the form described, the water which is thrown up by the action of the wash-boards strikes against the under side of 4the hood, and returns to the lower part of the tub,within which it is eonned. The upper or swin'ging wash-board is composed of two side pieces, a, between which are heldrolls or slats b c, arranged parallel to each other. The rolls 6, which have an octagonal or other suitable polygonal form, in crosssection, are mounted in the side pieces, so as -to be capable of-rotating. The slats c, on the contrary, are immovably secured to the said pieces. The rolls and slats are arranged alternately, so that'while the former will roll over the stationary wash-board below, the latter will rub or drag over the same, so that the clothes between the two boards will be partly pressed and partly rubbed by their action.' The side pieces a are mounted upon a'shaft, d, which has its bearings in a curved slot or jaw, e, in each side of the -tub. This slot is cut in from the top of the sides, so as to extend downward vertically for a little distance, and it then turns, so as to extend 'almost horizontally toward the front of the machine. The shaft OZ is held in the elongated bearings formed by these slots orjaws, and the slats and bars e, which Aform the wash-board, are arranged upon the are of a circle, having for its centre the axis of the shaft. Below the swinging board is a stationary wash-board, the slats of which nrc arranged upon the arc of a circle, corresponding to that of the upper board. This wasl1-board is formed of two side pieces,f, held by dovetailed pieces, r/, to the respective sides of the' tub. Between the pieces are heldsmall rolls, similar to those of the swinging board, and lcapable,likewise, of a rotary movement. The ends of the shaft d project out beyond the sides of the machine, cach end having attached to it a spring, composed of a band or strap, i, of vulcanized /f' rubber, or equivalentelastic material, one end of which is stretched and secured to the side of -the tub by any l suitable means, such as illustrated in the drawings, where the strap has ahole formed in its end, which fits over and is held upon the end of a rod or catch, rIhe arrangement of the spring-band is such that, when the shaft d is rotated'by means of a lever or handle, c, on one of its ends, so as to force the swinging wash-board down into the tub, the band will be4 stretched and wound upon the shaft, so as to hold the latter more firmly against the ends of its slotted or elongated bearings, and thus press the board more firmly upon the clothes.

The opera-tion of'the machine is as follows: After a sufficient quantity of hot water has been put in the tub, the clothes are pla-eed in the front part/ot' the tub, which is of sutlicient size to allow of a considerable number beingintrodnced at once, and left to soak, while one or two pieces are being operated on bythe boards. The upper wash-board is turned up and bach away. from the lower board, and the clothes to he washed are placed uponthe latter. The upper board is now turned down upon the clothes, and is vibrated by means of the handle 7c. The rollers and slats ZJ c will both rub and press the clothes, as above mentioned. The water circulates freely through .the openings between the sluts and rolls of both boards, andl the clothes are gradually carried down towards the lower end of the board.

It will be noticed that, owing to the peculiar arrangement of the springs upon the shafts cl, the pressure of the upper board upon the clothes increases inproportion as it is depressed or forced downward, and that, on the other hand, the pressure decreases as the board is raised. This action of the board-is similar to that. of the hand upon the clothes, when the ordinary-hand wash-board is employed, as the pressure is always'greater in the ldownward than the upward motion. The clothes are finally carried down by the actionof the rolls `upon tho boards, until they are discharged from the lower end of the board and fall into the tub. Owing to the down, ward inclination given the bottomef the tub from rear to front, the clothes gradually pass under thc board, back into the clothes-receptacle, in the front of the tub, and are replaced by'others, which are put in by the manner above explained, between the boards. l

In order to keep the water hot, I combine with the tub a sheet-iron heater, E, which is placed underneath the bottom, D. The heater is shaped ou top to conformv to the curve of the bottom, and it has at one end a fire-door, m, and at the other a chimney or stove-pipe, n. .A very small fire within the heater will be suiicient to maintain the water at thel required temperature. Instead of the heater shown in the drawings, any otherv suitable form of heatenor radiator, fitted to diffuse the heat over the surface'ot' the bottom, B, may be employed. In order to remove the swinging wash-board, the ends of the rubber spring-bands are slipped from the rods or catches upon which they are held, after which the shaft d may be lifted out'fromits slotted bearings, carrying with it the swinging board, and the stationary board below can then b'evused as an ordinary hand washboard. y

Having now described my invention,and the manner in lwhich the same is or may be carried into effect, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The\ combination, in a washing-machine Asuch as describedrwith the stationary wash-board, of the swinging boards, and spring bands of vulcanized rubber applied to the journals of said swinging boards, in the manner and for the purposes shown andy specified. v

2. The combination, with the stationary wash-board, swinging board, and springs for inducing the pressure of the latter, of the wash-tub, with its peculiarly-shaped bottom,arranged with relation to the said wash-boards,

i substantially as herein shown and set forth.,

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification before .two subscribingwitnesses.

FRANCIS M. HARRIS. 

